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So, SRCKKMACK, I'm a little bummed b/c these speakers are too laid back and a little less crisp than I'd like...I've got them mounted on foam a few inches from the back wall on a shelf and I have them hooked up to a mid-level Onkyo receiver (also soft spoken and 100X5) to an Oppo 970DVD player, is it my placement or my electronics that are ruining my dynamics?

Is the bookshelf open? In other words, are the speakers in an enclosure? Or are there sides? A picture might help.

You could experiment by placing the speakers out on their own a little, away from the walls further, on makeshift stands, and see how they sound.

100W per speaker should be plenty, if it truly puts out 100W. You can usually achieve the 100W in stereo mode, so try that too.

The foam is breaking apart on these, Paradigm wants a ton for new woofers, anyone recommend a foaming kit for these or done it before? Is it hard to do, easy to damage the speakers?
tks,
Mark

I refoamed my infinities about a decade ago, not hard. You have to take some pretty good measurements of the diameter of the cone and the surround, but it wasn't a long process. I ordered mine on-line but I foregt the name of the company.

Is the bookshelf open? In other words, are the speakers in an enclosure? Or are there sides? A picture might help.

You could experiment by placing the speakers out on their own a little, away from the walls further, on makeshift stands, and see how they sound.

100W per speaker should be plenty, if it truly puts out 100W. You can usually achieve the 100W in stereo mode, so try that too.

-Steve

Good idea about the stereo mode...I hadn't thought of that. But no, the Onkyo receiver only outputs about 80W with all channels driven if reviews are a good indication. I've been thinking about makeshift stands but I'm coming up with nothing...I need approx. 24" of height. The shelf is open, about 2 feet of space on either side of the speaker but the shelf right above the speaker is about 2" and its 2" from the back...this could be the problem, huh? I've got acoustic foam from partsexpress but maybe its not cutting the mustard...where can I get a set of the Auralex pads (I'm in central Texas)? Thanks for all the recommendations.

I am having trouble finding furniture to fit this beast. Those of you that own the 690-cc, could you please post some pictures so I can get an idea of what kind of setup is best? Not sure if i want to place the cc on top of a stand and have the tv on the wall or put the cc in the cabinet (preferred choice) hidden. If you can post with brand names and or website links to cabinets that fit the 690cc that would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

I am having trouble finding furniture to fit this beast. Those of you that own the 690-cc, could you please post some pictures so I can get an idea of what kind of setup is best? Not sure if i want to place the cc on top of a stand and have the tv on the wall or put the cc in the cabinet (preferred choice) hidden. If you can post with brand names and or website links to cabinets that fit the 690cc that would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

bdi and bello have some good offerings i think racksandstands.com will
have pictures of them and others.

I just bought cc-590 (it will arrive tomorrow) to replace my cc-470 which have dead tweeter which I bought almost a year ago to replace my cc-450 which also had a broken dome tweeter ( all this happened during watching Lord of the Rings movies ) , the rest of my setup is :
LCR-450a for front left and right
ADP-450 for surrounds
PS-1200 subwoofer
and the broken cc-450 for back center surround ( it sound fine if i dont crank the volume too much )
all powered by Onkyo 805 (asian version which rated 180 watt not like US version only 130 watt ) which replaced my old yamaha DSP-AX1 and it will hold me until I get my yamaha Z11 early next year .
my question is will cc-590 match lcr-450 or do I need to replace them ( I'm thinking studio 60), of course I couldn't do sound test in my paradigm dealer because lcr-450 is discontinued and I really love my lcr-450 .

I am having trouble finding furniture to fit this beast. Those of you that own the 690-cc, could you please post some pictures so I can get an idea of what kind of setup is best? Not sure if i want to place the cc on top of a stand and have the tv on the wall or put the cc in the cabinet (preferred choice) hidden. If you can post with brand names and or website links to cabinets that fit the 690cc that would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

I feel your pain, I just pick one of these monsters up last night a long with the pair of Studio 100's. Right now I have it on a 18" stand but looking for stand for the 60" panel and the massive cc-690.
The only stand I found so far is the Bello PVSC-4240E, it's a little small for my TV but but the shelf below will hold the speaker.

Good idea about the stereo mode...I hadn't thought of that. But no, the Onkyo receiver only outputs about 80W with all channels driven if reviews are a good indication. I've been thinking about makeshift stands but I'm coming up with nothing...I need approx. 24" of height. The shelf is open, about 2 feet of space on either side of the speaker but the shelf right above the speaker is about 2" and its 2" from the back...this could be the problem, huh? I've got acoustic foam from partsexpress but maybe its not cutting the mustard...where can I get a set of the Auralex pads (I'm in central Texas)? Thanks for all the recommendations.

The shelf above the speaker may be a problem. 2" above and behind is not much.

You should try makeshift stands just to experiment about the sound. Try setting them temporarily on kitchen chairs, or folding tables, etc. Then listen. If they work, then you should pursue some speaker stands instead of using the shelves.

The Auralex MoPads can be found at many locations, including Guitar Center. They are also available online at places like Amazon.com.

I just bought a pair of Atoms v5, and I'm really impressed with them, particularly considering their price. When I compare the specs for the Atom and the Mini, I assume that the Mini could play louder without distorting, and that it would provide a bit more bass. Are these the only 2 differences? Or is there any reason to believe that the bigger speaker would also have other benefits, such as improved imaging or soundstage?

Going to audition the Mini Monitors and the CC-290 this weekend! I really see a big difference in the service level- the authorized Paradigm dealer in my area was very courteous, encourage me to bring in whatever test material I wanted, and asked me what time I was showing up so he could have it all set up!

Man, if only I could come up with the money between now and tomorrow!!

Any suggestions for DVD/music to listen to? I have a few selections already, but any suggestions are welcome!

Dreaming of wonderful speakers tonight...

I love my mini monitors V.3. I demoed the monitor 7's and 9's and studio 20's not too long ago and used a bunch of different music.

A couple I like, but may not be your taste, are Beck's Information and Radiohead's Hail to the Thief. A good classical recording is always good to try as well. Most important is to use music YOU listen to. They will be your speakers and you will be listening to your music on them. Have fun. Listening to different speakers can be a blast.

Wow, what a weekend. I spent all day Saturday with a friend who has more home theater knowledge than I do auditioning speakers at a local shop, thought I might share my experience for any other new people to this thread.

Quick summary: Overall budget of about $2k for receiver, DVD player, 5 speakers and sub, budget of about $1200 for speakers.

I built a reference CD with 60-90 second clips of music (easier than swapping CDs out) to listen to. I had 15 tracks total, and played through them with the Minis as well as the Titans. Here's a brief on them:

- 4 jazz clips (3 Norah Jones, which turned out to be a pretty good recording in terms of quality, and 1 Dave Brubeck recorded in mono)
- 3 hard rock clips (Megadeth! I wanted to hear if the instrument stage blended to mush or if you could still pick out individual instruments)
- 3 classical clips (Bach's Air on G String, Itzhak Perlman violin solo, drum-heavy clip from Battlestar Galactica season 2)
- 2 acoustic guitar clips (Tim Reynolds, "Stream", from Live at Luther College with Dave Matthews, and Elliott Smith)
- 4 rap/R&B/hiphop just to annoy people in the store

(DISCLAIMER: I am NOT by any means an audiophile, expert/pro/reviewer, nor do I possess a Ph.D in audio engineering, just my personal observations)

- The most neutral speakers I have listened to up to this point in my search. Did the usual Best Buy/Circuit City route listening to Boston Audio, Polks, etc, and the Minis maintained a much more neutral (with inclinations towards warm on the bass if anything) sound even with songs geared towards higher frequency vocals/instruments.
- Really great sound dispersion. Standing at different points throughout the room while listening to them, I didn't feel as though the sound was being "beamed" at me even though the Minis are, well, "mini".
- Good bass response, even from 6.5" woofers. The rap tracks had incredible feedback even without a subwoofer present.

Then ran through the Titans, and although I felt there was more of an "oomph" from the Titans on bass, I didn't feel as though they offered SUBSTANTIALLY better sound quality than the Minis for my application. However, if I change my mind later (I'm only buying 3.1 right now, other "2" come later), I can always get those big boys for the fronts!

I was pretty much sold on the Minis, and I hadn't even listened to them in surround settings! For movies, here's a sampler of what we watched:
- Lord of the Rings: Ring drop/Sauron explodes (FOTR), Battle of Pelennor Fields/Olyphant Charge (ROTK)
- Finding Nemo (Darla taps the tank)

The surround experience was where my first disappointment came, but oddly enough, it wasn't with the speakers, it was the shop we were at. We asked to listen to the Minis on the fronts with the 290 centers (ADP surrounds were in place already), and the guy wired them up and we started listening. I was amazed, how could Minis have this much range? The guy came back and "oops, I forgot to wire them up"- we had been listening to Studio floorstandings and the 390 centers So then he hooked up the actual speakers and we relistened, and of course it was a lot different, but listening to the 290's definitely cemented that aspect for me- I'm going to go ahead and get the 290's with Minis instead of the 190's with Titans as I had thought before.

The 290's, like the Minis, offered superb clarity without sounding too shrill or cold, especially on the Pelennor Fields charge in ROTK (not too bass heavy, but the string theme playing in the background gives me chills!). Those things are pretty beastly though, I wonder how I'll be positioning this near the TV!!

Another part of my day was to listen and see what kind of sub would seem appropriate to accompany the Minis. My biggest question was if the Minis would need substantial backup from the sub to fill out the range. The sales guy seemed really keen on this Paradigm 10" sub that retails for $800 (but of course he was willing to give it to me for $500 if I purchased that day ). It was an okay sub, but I could see that if I wanted some SPL, I'd have to look elsewhere. As a result, I'm going to pinch some extra pennies and get the SVS PB10-NSD, because when Darla taps that tank, I want some plaster rearranged on my walls

Overall, the day was wonderful- almost like a baptism into the home theater world, if you will. The friend I was with is also shopping for speakers, but more along the lines of Revels and the Signature series from Paradigm, haha. Although I wish I had the budget to get something like he's getting, it was still fun just to hear my reference CD on those big honkin' speakers.

I did have a concern during the day, so any of your insights would be welcome:

The shop we were at had all the speakers hooked up to these ridiculous McIntosh amps ($3k+) and Marantz CD players ($4800+) and receivers. Will these speakers sound just miserable when I hook them up to my measly receiver? I'm looking at either an Onkyo 505 or 605. I know it will be a noticeable difference, but will the difference cause a "Jekyll/Hyde" effect on the speakers? I have about $350 budgeted for a receiver, so I don't know if there's anything I could do at all to minimize this disparity.

Thanks for reading my long post, I just feel like a kid in a candy store right now

I feel your pain, I just pick one of these monsters up last night a long with the pair of Studio 100's. Right now I have it on a 18" stand but looking for stand for the 60" panel and the massive cc-690.
The only stand I found so far is the Bello PVSC-4240E, it's a little small for my TV but but the shelf below will hold the speaker.

I am getting the Monitor series cc-390 which is about the same size (39"W). I did not find a stand that would really fit my needs. I am concerend about someone knocking it over... I decided to build my own stand that will basically be the same width and depth and I will fill it with insulation material.

Sounds like you ha d a fabulous time! It's really about what YOU like that counts. IMO, speakers (as long as your room is okay) are one of the most important pieces that make a difference. Now this doesn't mean that you can take any amp and they will keep sounding good. The opposite is also true for most people; you might not hear a big differece between a 1000$ Denon amp and a 3000$ MAC (Some eyes are rolling now, I know). These speakers are very sensitive and you will NOT need 100W/channel. You would be very happy with a HK AVR 247 or a 347. You don't need the flagship 745. Moreover, streetprices of the HK units are great.

He is offering all of this for $625.00. I should get the opportunity to audition the speakers to make sure they work OK.

Again just for reference, I was going to look at Mini Monitors with the CC-290. I notice these are older Paradigms, so I wanted to get some feedback. The Esprits were considered the sort of "entry level" Paradigm floorstanders, and the center as well as the ADP-150 have been replaced.

In your opinion, would it be worth it to get these? I'll admit it seems tempting, especially since they're floorstanding speakers, but if the quality wouldn't be any better than the speakers I was planning to get, I'll pass.

He is offering all of this for $625.00. I should get the opportunity to audition the speakers to make sure they work OK.

Again just for reference, I was going to look at Mini Monitors with the CC-290. I notice these are older Paradigms, so I wanted to get some feedback. The Esprits were considered the sort of "entry level" Paradigm floorstanders, and the center as well as the ADP-150 have been replaced.

In your opinion, would it be worth it to get these? I'll admit it seems tempting, especially since they're floorstanding speakers, but if the quality wouldn't be any better than the speakers I was planning to get, I'll pass.

Here is a link I found. I don't know these guys that did the review...

He is offering all of this for $625.00. I should get the opportunity to audition the speakers to make sure they work OK.

Again just for reference, I was going to look at Mini Monitors with the CC-290. I notice these are older Paradigms, so I wanted to get some feedback. The Esprits were considered the sort of "entry level" Paradigm floorstanders, and the center as well as the ADP-150 have been replaced.

In your opinion, would it be worth it to get these? I'll admit it seems tempting, especially since they're floorstanding speakers, but if the quality wouldn't be any better than the speakers I was planning to get, I'll pass.

Get the AVR you want, hook 'em up and let your ears decide. I have only owned Paradigm speakers for a few years but I have listened to old Paradigms. As far as I can tell they have never made junk. If you like them it sounds like a good buy. With the saved money you could get a great sub and AVR.

I am getting the Monitor series cc-390 which is about the same size (39"W). I did not find a stand that would really fit my needs. I am concerend about someone knocking it over... I decided to build my own stand that will basically be the same width and depth and I will fill it with insulation material.

Pictures please, would like to see what you built.
I'm still on the hunt, but thought about building a stand for both TV and center just need to find the time.

I have to say after a couple of days with these speakers, WOW what sound.
I'm thrilled with them

My stand is not built yet. All I did was a "sketch-it" drawing for now... Like I said, it will be the same width and depth as the cc. It will be 24" high. I will stain it and make it fit it with the rest of my HT that I am currently building...

I've had Cinema series for a long while and am ready to upgrade, but must keep the wife happy (if the speakers were invisible, that'd do it). I have 90's front, 70's rear, 110 center, PSB-8 Sub. I only turn them on for DVD's, and don't listen too loud (usually). I have a large living room with 50" Plasma at one end. I was thinking the new Millenia might be a way to go, or move the 90's to the rear and add 2 more 110's (or 220's). Suggestions welcome.

Yeah, so... what DVD/show are you watching there? You might want to list a warning like: NSFW...

Quote:

Originally Posted by tcat

I've had Cinema series for a long while and am ready to upgrade, but must keep the wife happy (if the speakers were invisible, that'd do it). I have 90's front, 70's rear, 110 center, PSB-8 Sub. I only turn them on for DVD's, and don't listen too loud (usually). I have a large living room with 50" Plasma at one end. I was thinking the new Millenia might be a way to go, or move the 90's to the rear and add 2 more 110's (or 220's). Suggestions welcome.